§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the radiological decontamination works at Aldershot, pursuant to project 5067. [163969]
§ Mr. CaplinWork was undertaken between October 2001 and March 2002 to remove radiological contamination from the former Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers' site in Aldershot following a Land Quality assessment and surveys undertaken by Defence Evaluation and Research Agency Radiological Protection Services. The work was limited to the removal of detectable radium above the regulatory limit.
When contamination was first identified, the local authority, local inhabitants and the media were made aware of the project, and they were kept informed of progress. The site was also fenced and warning signs erected. Tenders were only invited from contractors with an established reputation in radiological decontamination and the work followed current best practice including on the minimisation of waste transferred to licensed landfill sites and to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., Drigg. I can confirm that the project was completed on 8 March 2002.